MUSIC. art. CULTURE. HAMILTON. NEW ZEALAND

In the lead up to Saturday's Bandfandango Finale at NIvara Lounge we caught up with another of the brand-new bands, Closet Octopus! The band - Macaila Eve, Nathan Bregmen, Sam Kimber-Bell and Alex Keegan- answered some questions for us about their Bandfandango experience thus far!

Did you know the other band members before Bandfandango? Had any of you played music together? Nathan and I (Sam) used to play together in a band around 2004-2005 called "Rose Petals and Confetti". Nathan knew Macaila and played together in a band with Alex.

How did your band name come about? Our drummer has a strange interest in Octopuses, we have no idea why.

How have you found the creative process and/or how did you decide on a style of music? It was great fun! Our musical style was created by getting out our instruments and playing them until it sounded like some awesome music! Our songs develop through a range of genres, folk, jazz, rock, funk and gypsy.

Did anyone take the lead musically or lyrically? We have a large whiteboard which we found as a useful tool for collaboration. Some of the melodic and harmonic ideas arrived while I was in the shower, and Macaila wrote some wonderful lyrics in which we all turned into a song.

How have you found the whole experience?! Great - 10 out of 10!

Do you think your band will play shows after the Bandfandango finale? We are planning a world tour where we play at every open mic night around the world.